With This Ring
by Irish Rose1
Summary: It's Rafe and Evelyn's wedding day.


There was not enough time spent with Rafe and Evelyn in the movie, so I decided to fix that by creating an alternate storyline. Evelyn doesn't get involved with Danny and the baby she's carrying is Rafe's.

Summary: Rafe and Evelyn get married.

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It was a simple ceremony. 

Rafe had wanted her to have the wedding of her dreams, but Evelyn only wanted to be married to him. Fate had brought him back to her a second time and now they were going to have a baby. 

He'd told her how he felt when she packed for him the day he left, how he felt married to her. To him the ceremony made it a reality, but he wanted her to be happy. All she wanted was to be Mrs. Rafe McCawley.

As Rafe's best man, Danny had insisted on arranging the whole thing. Neither of them knew when they would receive new orders, so Rafe didn't want any delays. 

As they stood at the altar of the small chapel at Hickam, Rafe grinned at his friend. "Nice job, Danny. I'll do the same for you."

"Let's just get you married first and we'll worry about me later." Danny grinned back at him.

The door at the back of the chapel opened and Evelyn stood there, on the arm of Colonel Doolittle. Their wedding was so sudden that Evelyn's father could not come and she had asked the Colonel to stand in for him. It pleased Rafe that she had done it, because there was no man other than his father that he had more respect for.

The minister motioned them to come forward as his wife began to play "Oh, Promise Me". The Colonel leaned over and said quietly, "All ready, young lady?" 

She looked and saw Rafe standing there in his uniform, with a big smile on his face. She couldn't help but answer with one of her own and turned to the Colonel. "Yes, sir. I'm ready."

He smiled at her. "Then let's go." And he walked her up the aisle to where Rafe waited for her. The minister opened his prayer book as Evelyn stood next Rafe and began a gentle discourse on the challenge of marriage, especially in wartime. He spoke about separation, loss and the blessings of children, which got them to glance at each other briefly and they smiled. 

They repeated marriage vows to love, honor and cherish for better or worse until death would they part. They looked at each other again because they understood the gravity of that very possibility.

The minister motioned to Danny and to Sandra to put the wedding rings on his prayer book and he blessed them. He handed the smaller of the rings to Rafe and the minister instructed him to put the ring on her finger. 

"With this ring, I thee wed." Rafe said and smiled.

Evelyn could feel tears gather at the corners of her eyes as the minister handed her the second ring and gave the same instruction to her.

"With this ring, I thee wed." She said and a tear rolled down her cheek. Rafe reached over and gently brushed it away.

She smiled at him as the minister concluded the ceremony. He indicated to Rafe and Evelyn to put their left hands on his prayer book. He covered their hands with his own and said, "For as much as Rafe and Evelyn have made vows to each other before God and this company, I pronounce them man and wife. Captain McCawley, you may kiss your bride."

He had a smile on his face as he glanced at the minister, who nodded. He grasped her shoulders and leaned over to give her a soft kiss. She answered it and it was all Rafe could do to not pull her into his arms and kiss her the way he really wanted to.

When he leaned back, Evelyn had tears that rolled down her face. "Why are you cryin'?"

She laughed softly. "Haven't you heard that women cry at weddings?"

That made him laugh and he kissed her again. He then turned to Danny who had decided to forgo the congratulatory handshake and he hugged his best friend. "I know I don't need to say this, but be happy Rafe."

"Thanks for everything Danny."

Danny's smile told Rafe how happy his friend was for him. "You're my best friend and I'd do anything for you, you know that."

"Yea, I know." And he turned back to Evelyn to take her hand as the minister presented them to the small gathering.

"It pleases me to present Captain and Mrs. Rafe McCawley." And they walked up the aisle with everyone clapping, Danny and Sandra not far behind. 

They all gathered outside and took a short walk to an open area that had been set up for the reception. A light breeze on the late May afternoon stirred the tablecloth and the awning overhead as everyone sat down. The minister's wife had put together a small luncheon and baked a wedding cake for the occasion.

Danny stood up and cleared his throat. "If I could have your attention, I have somethin' I'd like to say." It quieted down and he picked up his glass. "I've known Rafe my whole life and the only thing he was ever really serious about was flyin', until he met Evelyn. He was always smoother than I was, always knew the right thing to say to a girl, until he met Evelyn. He's protected me my whole life and it makes me so happy that he's finally found someone as wonderful as her. So please raise your glasses to Rafe and to Evelyn." And he did just that.

The other guests followed his lead and toasted. Rafe and Evelyn stood up and each hugged Danny for what she told him was very thoughtful.

"Just be happy, Evelyn." He told her and kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry about us Danny, we will be happy. What about you though?"

He laughed. "You're startin' to sound like Rafe. Now that you're married, y'all are tryin' to get me married."

"We want you to be happy, too." She said and hugged him before they sat down. 

Evelyn would always remember her wedding day as one that was warm and sunny. Those they knew that had survived Pearl Harbor and the Tokyo raid were there with them. She would remember how Rafe was never far away and when he was close, always had a hold of her hand. She understood why because there was going to be a time when he could not be with her.

She was brought out of her reverie as Rafe gently grasped her elbow. "Hey, Mrs. McCawley, where are you?" He said with a grin.

"I like the sound of that, Captain." She smiled back at him.

"There's a cake over there waitin' for us. What do you say?" He held his hand out to her and she took it and stood up. They walked over to where the cake sat on a small table and Rafe picked up a knife to make the first slice. Before he did, though, Evelyn put her hand on top of his and they cut the cake together.

"We're in this together, Rafe McCawley."

"You got that right, Evelyn McCawley." He grinned at her again.

"I really like the sound of that." She smiled back and fed him the first piece of their wedding cake. 


End file.
